Car heater



March 17, 1936.

. A. J. SCHUTT ET AL CAR HEATER Filed Aug. 17, 1934 2 SheetsSheet 1 March 17, 1936. A sg u -r r AL 2,034,252

CAR HEATER Filed Aug. 17, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Patented Mar. 17, 1936 UNITED STATES QAR HEATER Arthur J. Schutt and Carl W. Darrah, Lockport, N. Y., assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application August 17, 1934, Serial No. 740,259

11 Claims.

This invention relates to circulating water heaters and more specifically to water heaters that are used in automotive vehicles.

In the construction of hot water heaters for use in automobiles it has heretofore been difiicult to design a heater that could be'satisfactorily supported from the frame of the car so as to withstand the vibration and prevent the water joints from jarring loose so that leakage would occur. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a water heater which is rugged enough to withstand vibration.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a heater which may be satisfactorily supported on the car.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a heater with larger inlet and outlet tubes which allow free passage of the water.

With these and other objects in view our invention resides in the construction described in the specification, claimed in the claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the front portion of a motor car showing the heater in position.

Figure 2 is a front view of the heater with parts broken away looking in the direction of the arrows 2-2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure e is a detail view of a heavy piece for rigidly supporting the outlet pipe.

Figure 5 is a detail view of two circular rings that form adjacent water passages showing the two in spaced relation.

Figure 6 isa detail view of a stamping also used to support the end of the inlet or outlet pipe.

Figure 7 is a detail view of a portion of the elongated S-shaped fins as applied to the circular water passages. v

A motor car having a frame I carries at its front portion the usual engine assembly 2 and the radiator 3 within the radiator shell 43. The head 5 of the motor is connected to the upper radiator tank 6 by a hose connection 1 and the lower portion of the motor cooling system is connected to the lower radiator tank 8 by a hose connection 9.

To the rear of the motor is positioned a dash board it upon which is mounted the heater designated broadly at H. A tube l2 connects the bottom or inlet pipe i5 with the cooling system in the head of the motor and a tube I4 connects the top or outlet tube It of the heater with the lower tank 8 of the radiator or the hose on the suction side of the pump. A shut-off i6 is supplied in the inlet line I? to cut off the flow of water to the heater.

The heater per se is formed of a series of circular rings I! which are alternated to face in opposite directions. These rings are formed of a 5 radially wide fiat portion 88 both inner and outer edges of which are flanged as at I9 and 20. A circle of indentures 2! are pressed into the fiat faces I8 throughout the periphery and at such a radius that the two rings, that go to form one 10 water passage, will have the indentures radially spaced. These indentures act to prevent the rings from collapsing and as baffles to the flow of water and give it turbulence and impede its progress so that more heat may be taken from it. 15 Also in the flat face It at the upper and lower extremities are openings 22 and 23 through which the water enters and leaves the rings. The edges of these openings are upset as at 2 5, to form a projection around the edge of the opening. The 20 fiat faces of the alternate rings are made slightly narrower than those between so that they will fit inside of the flanges of the latter as best shown in Figure 7 to form the water passages. When two rings are thus pressed together the up- 25 set projections 24 around the openings 22 and 23 face outwardly from the assembly and cylindrical spacers 25 slip over these projections between each pair of rings to secure the different pairs together.

Also between each pair of rings are secured the elongated S-shaped fins 26 whose width is approximately that of the flat faces it. These are formed of long pieces of flat material bent back and forth upon themselves, the length of the 35 folds being the distance between the pairs of rings. The flat portion of each fold has offset ridges 27, the two adjacent reverse folds having their ridges offset toward each other to provide a bafiie for air passage. These elongated fins extend throughout the circumference of the rings with the exception of the cylindrical spacers.

A plurality of pairs of rings are secured together in the above manner to form the body of the heat dissipating unit. The inlet and out- 45 let pipes I5 and it slide over the projections 24 on the rear face of the rearmost pair of rings, to connect the water system thereto. A further annular assembly of elongated S-shaped fins is secured to the rear of the last pair of rings and a. 50 stamping 28 is slid over the connecting pipe to hold the fins in place. This stamping is formed of a U-shaped member, the length of the two arms 29 being the same as the distance between the rings to give the correct space for the fins.

The fiat base 30 has a hole 3| therein, the edge of which is upset to form a flange 32 that fits around the pipe.

A square hollow block 33 is supplied to the upper outlet pipe l3 between the last ring and the stamping 28, its dimension being that of the outside diameter of the pipe so that it will fit eries as at 40 and 4!.

snugly thereover. .Its lower edge has a notch 34 therein to fit over the lower part of the flange on the rear face of the ring member. The purpose of this block is to strengthen the heater at the point of connection of the outlet tube and to make it more rigid.

A rear plate 35 completes the heater to the rear and has two holes therein which fit over the pipes. The periphery of the plate is flanged as at 36 and then bent back upon itself as at 31,

mesh 44.

The whole is secured together by four straps 49 spaced at from each other around the periphery, the shape of which isbest shown by the cross section in Figure 3. The portion to the rear is offset toward the center of the heater to form a humped flange 46 that snaps over the rear plate and holds it in place. The front portion of the straps are also offset toward the center to form an angle 41 around the outer edge of plate 39. A thin circular ring 48 of the same size as the opening surrounding the screen mesh is supported upon the front .of the heater to conceal the joint between the' screen and its supporting groove 43 by four arms 45 at right angles to each other which interlock with the forward ends of the straps 49 as shown. This ring also carries two parallel spaced rods 50 each of which carries a deflecting shutter 5i pivotally thereon to direct the flow of air from the heater. The front ring and mesh, horizontal straps and rear plate together form a casing for the heat dissipating rings.

Supported within the central portion of the heater, which is hollow, is a motor 52 which is secured to the rear plate 35 by a bracket 53, which may be secured to both the motor and the plate in any desired manner such as bolting or welding. The motor shaft 54 projects toward the forward end of the heater and carries a fan 55 to pull the air from the heater coils and discharge it. Bolts 56 are secured to the rear plate 35 for bolting the heater to the car body.

In use and operation the heater is secured to the dash board of the car by the supporting bolts. The inlet and outlet tubes which project through the dash board also assist in giving a firm support for the heater. The end of the outlet pipe or tube which projects into the heater is surrounded by the heavy block which increases the rigidity and aids in giving a firm support. The inlet tube is connected to the cooling system in the head of the motor where the water is hot and the outlet tube is connected to the lower radiator tank where the water is cool. The hot water flows in through pipe l5 and then up through the ring assemblies to the upper pipe l3 where it flows back to the motor. The heat is dissipated from the sides of the ring assemblies to the elongated s-shaped fins and thence to the air streams.

.Itwill therefore be seen that we have provided a rugged heater which may be firmly supported on the car and which has a high heat dissipating capacity.

-We claim: 7

1. A heater comprising a plurality of pairs of circular mating rings forming annular chambers and having two diametrically spaced openings in said rings, upstanding lips surrounding the edges of these openings, short cylinders fitting over the lips and connecting the pairs of rings together, a casing encompassing the whole having a rear plate, means on the rear plate to support a motor inside of the whole and to support the casing on exterior means and means forming the front of the casing which allows the passage of air therethrough.

2. In a heater having a plurality of pairs of circular rings connected together at diametrically spaced points by hollow tubes to form a plurality of passages for a fluid and a casing therefor, an outlet pipe connected to the top of the rearmost ring, an inlet pipe connected to the bottom of the same, U-shaped spacing and bracing means slidable on the pipes which extend to the casing to support the ends of the pipes.

3. In a heater having a plurality of pairs of circular mating rings connected together at diametrically spaced points by hollow tubes to form a plurality of passages for a fluid and a casing therefor, an inlet pipe and an outlet'pipe connected to the rearmost ring, means slidable on the pipes which extend to the casing to support the pipe ends and means surrounding the end of the outlet pipe between the rear ring and the slidable means and nesting within the slidable means to increase the strength of the joint.

4. In a heater having a, plurality of pairs of circular mating rings connected together at diametrically spaced points by hollow tubes to form a plurality of passageways for a fluid and a casing therefor, an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe connected to the rearmost ring, a U-shaped member having an opening therein which fits over the pipe, attached to the ends of both pipes and which extends between the pipes and the casing and a hollow block fitting over the end of the outlet pipe to increase the rigidity of the joint.

5. A heater comprising a plurality of pairs of mating rings forming annular chambers and having diametrically spaced openings in both faces, upstanding lips surrounding the edges of the openings, means fitting over the lips to secure adjacent pairs together, an annular elongated fin member between adjacent pairs of rings to dissipate heat, a casing encompassing the whole, an

inlet and outlet pipe secured to the upstanding.

lips of the rear ring, means slidable on the pipes and extending between the pipes and the casing to support them and means surrounding the end of the outlet pipe between the rear ring and the slidable means to further rigidify the joint.

6. A heater comprising a casing, means therein for dissipating heat having a plurality of paths for fluid flow, an inlet and an outlet pipe secured-to the heat dissipating means, means slidable on the pipes to space them from the casing, means surrounding the end of the outlet pipe to rigidify the joint, 2. back plate forming part of the casing, a motor and heater supporting means secured to the back plate and a screen and deflector shutter forming the front of the casing.

'7. A heater comprising a casing, means therein for dissipating heat having a plurality of paths for fluid flow, an inlet and an outlet pipe secured to the heat dissipating means, spacing means slidable on the pipes to support them, additional means on the outlet pipe internesting with the spacing means to rigidify the joint between it and the heater, a back plate forming part of the casing, a motor and heater supporting means secured to the back plate and a screen and deflector shutter forming the front of the casing.

8. A heater comprising a plurality of pairs of circular mating rings forming annular chambers and having two diametrically spaced openings therein, upstanding lips surrounding the edges of each of said openings, short cylindrical members fitting over the lips and connecting the pairs of rings together, a casing encompassing the ring assembly comprising a'rear plate, a front ring having meshwork carried thereby and means for securing the two together.

9. A heater comprising a plurality of pairs of circular mating rings connected together at diametrically spaced points by hollow tubes to form a plurality of passages for a fluid, an outlet pipe connected to the top of the rear-most ring, means surrounding the end of the pipe to increase the rigidity, an inlet pipe connected to the bottom of the rearmost ring, a casing encompassing the ring assembly comprising means covering both the back and front of the assembly and horizontal straps to secure the two means together.

10. In a heater, a plurality of pairs of circular mating rings forming annular chambers, a series of pressed-out indentures in each ring to space it from its mate, means securing each pair to the next adjacent pair and s-shaped fins between the pairs to provide a tortuous air passage.

11. In a heater, a plurality of pairs of circular mating rings forming annular chambers all of the same diameter, a series of pressed-out indentures in each ring faced in the direction of its mating ring to engage it and space the two apart, means connecting the pairs together at diametrically spaced points to form a radiator assembly and fluid inlet and outlet means connected to the first named means.

ARTHUR J. SCHU'I'I, CARL W. DARRAH. 

